Not-Yet-Relatives
by AliceBridger
Summary: It's okay. I was trying to calm myself down. My family dealt over the centuries with a much worse supernatural drama than time traveling, surely I can get back to the present (or is it future?) time before something bad happens... Right? I can deal with all of my relatives-to-be. At least I thought... *** Klaus and Caroline's daughter gets sent back to the past. Major Klaroline!
1. Correct The World

**Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **1\. Correct The World**

* * *

 _26.7.2063_

"Mom!... Mom! Please! What's going on? What's happening?!" I screamed scared to death. My insides hurt as a bitch and all I wanted to do was to fall asleep, the sweet unconsciousness, and finally get rest. But when I started to close my eyes, my mom grabbed me by shoulders and shaked me.

"Honey, you need to fight!"

I couldn't believe it! She was here! I wasn't alone! My... My family... I scrambled up from my fetal position and tried to stand up but I wasn't able to go through with it and fell down on the hard floor. "I can't mommy... I'm too weak..." I said between sobs.

"You can." She reassured me with one of those smiles that made me feel like I could do anything at anytime... but not today. Not after a month of running, hiding and than even being kidnapped and fighting over the control of my body.

Right now I was hopeless.

"It hurts... It hurts so much! And those voices are right. I can't do it. I can't win. I'm just making this worse!"

"You can do whatever you decide, because you are the strongest person I know." Mom slowly pulled me into a hug. "You are not going to give up! Your dad and I are fighting for you and all we need, is for you to keep fighting, too! They will never manage to defeat us, okay! We love you, Eli, always and forever... Don't forget that!" Her palm on my hand wavered and I got he feeling that she was fighting with all her might to be here, with me, and she no matter what still kept comforting me.

That got me angry. You can hurt me, But not the people I love. "Mommy, I will. I promise you, I will fight!"

With a last stroke of her hand in my blonde hair, which I got after her, she disappeared and the pain returned with its full force.

I wanted to crawl away. Out of its reach. Wherever they wanted me, if only she would stop torturing me. I wanted to... give up.

Pain even increased and I remembered all those times over the past week I gave up a bit of me, to stop it even if just for a few minutes. I would gladly do it again. Lose. I would do it for myself. But I wasn't able to do it for people I loved. For people, who loved me. For Freya, Elijah, Kol, Davina, Bekah, Matt, mommy,.. daddy,... I lost so many times already...

This time I wasn't going to let it defeat me so easily.

I stood up and started chanting. I knew this spell. My aunt Freya taught me it along with thousands of others, but she never thought I would have to use it someday. Neverthless I knew what I was doing. I was protecting my family. I was correcting the world.

The darkness seemed to be devouring me, but I was determined not to let go. "Phasmatos intra medareno sometswar... "

My nose started bleeding, yet I continued. "Phasmatos intra medareno sometswar... "

My head hurt, voices in my head kept yelling at me to give up, my energy was nowhere to be found,... But I fought.

"Phasmatos intra medareno sometswar... Phasmatos motus!"

I fought for my family, for my friends, for everything I ever loved...

I fought for my life!

I saw a blindingly bright light and within seconds... I was gone.

* * *

When I was finally able to see again, I found myself in the middle of the quiet street in a town I didn't know. Although I felt a suspicious feeling as if I belonged here all my life, I knew I've never been here.

And that was when I realized that those voices in my mind vanished. I was finally free after all those weeks! I felt like a child unpacking presents on Christmas. Happy and excited. I did it! I won! I succesfully cast the spell and made everything better! I defeated the witch bitch! And I...

...had absolutely no idea where the hell I was.

I must have looked pretty confused, because a little while later, a cop approached me asking, whether I was okay.

"Yes, yes, of course." I answered bewildered. "I... just..." I had to take a deep breath to continue. "Would you be so kind to tell me where I am?" I still remembered my manners. (Unle Lijah made sure of that after all - oh those boring hours spent with him teaching me... I usually just ran to dad's studio and locked myself in there.)

"Miss, you are on the Washington Street. Are you lost?" No, I was not. I just wanted him to tell me where I was. I approached the police man and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Tell me where am I exactly," I compelled him and he answered without hesitation.

"Washington Street, Mystic Falls, Virginia, United States."

My eyes widened.

What? No, no, no! That was not possible! Mystic Falls was destroyed decades before I was born! He's lying! He must have a vervain on him or something. But I didn't feel any vervain. So how...?

"And... What year is it?" I asked silently, afraid of what he may say.

"2010," he answered and I really thought that my heart stopped beating for a second. I needed to help my mom and dad! I couldn't stay - I counted - fifty three years in the past! That was just unthinkable! How... How could this even happen? The spell which I chanted was supposed to correct everything and defeat Kerra, not to time travel me to somewhere.

I didn't know much about Mystic Falls, dad didn't like to talk about it and mom usually just mentioned the town she grew up in, but my auntie Bex loved telling me stories. Stories about this town being Las Vegas for all supernatural. Stories about my parents and their friends. Stories about everything that happened before I was born.

If my math wasn't as catastrophical, as my math teacher liked to say, my mom must be about eighteen. If I find her, she might help me. So, I had to find out where she was.

I had an idea that the police officer might know. "Do you know, where does Caroline..." What the hell was her maiden name? Right, of course!"...Forbes lives?"

"Forbes? As in Sheriff's daughter?"

"Yeah! Exactly!" I almost forgot, that my grandma was a cop. I remember my mom told me about her. When I was younger, my biggest wish was to get to know her. At least I can get something out of this. I can meet my nana! "Take me to their house."

It took about ten minutes to get to my destination. When I was there, I compelled the cop to forget about me and waited till he left. Then I approached the house, rang the bell and hoped, that, whatever it was, that was making my breathing harder, it wasn't a panic attack. After a little while I heard steps and someone shouted: "Mom, I've got it!" and then the front door opened.

And I stood face to face with my mother. Caroline Mikaelson.

Well, not yet.

She was Caroline Forbes, Sheriff's daughter, baby vampire, miss Mystic Falls, head cheerleader, and she had no idea who me or my dad were.

And I couldn't possibly tell her. It would mess with the timeline. And that's assuming she would believe me. I mean... Would you believe a girl, who is only about three years younger than you, who is claiming she's your daughter? I know I wouldn't.

"What do you want?" she asked and I realized that I was staring.

"I... It..." I said, not being able to decide what to tell her. I should think of something. Fast. I needed to find out how to get back to the present time.

"Well?"

"I... got lost. And someone pointed me in direction towards the Sheriff's house, so, here I am." I knew her well enough to know that the look she gave me meant that she didn't believe me one bit. And it wasn't as if I didn't trust her or didn't need her help. "Okay, that's not entirely true. Actually I know that you're a vampire and I assume you must know a witch since you're wearing a daylight ring, so I really need you to take me to her. Please!... Like right now."

Her eyes widened more and more with every passing second. I saw her shocked face and for a few seconds she was just trying to comprehend what I just told her. She grabbed my elbow and dragged me inside and up the stairs. I'd seen her wary glance when I was passing through the door frame, but she didn't calm down even though I was able to go in. Without any seconds to spare she led me to her bedroom and shouted towards the kitchen: "It's Elena! We're going to my room!"

"Have fun!" My grandma answered, but didn't bother to look at us, as my mom closed the door behind us.

Caroline smiled, as if not sure what other expression she should make. "Okay, what do you say that we start with 'Hi! I'm Caroline Forbes. I'm eighteen years old and I'm seriously creeped out ever since you knocked on my door. What is your name?'"

I had to fight a smile that was creeping on my face. No matter the age, she was still my mother and I knew exactly how to talk to her. "Hello. My name is Elizabeth, but people call me Eli... or Beth, but only those who wish to upset me, because I don't like that nickname. I turned fifteen a month ago and I'm also seriously creeped out, because I don't belong here but I have no idea how to get back. So, will you help me or not?" I took a deep breath but my heart kept beating at the same crazy pace as before. "Please."

She still looked slightly hesitantly.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you or your friends. And, you have to take my word for it, but I swear I'm not compelled. I'm a witch I wouldn't let any vampire compell me, but you'll have to trust me." I really tried not to lie to her... Okay, okay! Maybe I wasn't telling the full truth, but can you blame me? My head was spinning just from thinking about the complexity of time. Could I tell her everything, because this had already happened? Was I supposed to keep my mouth shut? Would she forget everything when I come back? Or was this like in that prehistoric movie, uncle Matt made me watch, where they killed a butterfly and destroyed the world?

I seriously didn't know. Last month was so hard! After all of my fighting and struggles and all those spells I performed, I suddenly felt the need to curl up in the fetal position and not wake up for the two following days.

She wasn't here. She... Kerra...

There was only my mom and she would never hurt me. I could finally rest for now. For a little while...

I wasn't sure, whether I fainted or just fell asleep, but what I do remeber, is my mom gently putting me down on the bed, before I closed my eyes and drifted off.

* * *

 **So, guys! This is like a really big step for me, because this is not only my first fanfiction I wrote but also my first english story I wrote. English is not my native language and right now I'm really nervous what, you guys, think about this book and any reviews are welcomed :)**

 **I know that this is not a very original (no pun intended) idea for this kind of story but I couldn't resist. Sue me! xD**


	2. Get To Know Your Friends

**Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **2\. Get To Know Your Friends**

* * *

I woke up to the morning sun shining through the windows.

When I came here, the sun was setting. I must have slept for hours, though I still felt tired. But I was more rested than I've been in the last month. "...better?" I heard a voice on my left and my rising panic disappeared after I realized it was mom.

"What?" I asked because my sleepy self was known for its inability to form a coherent thought until I was fully awake.

Caroline was leaning against the wall, unsure what to do. "I said whether you feel better."

"Um, yeah. I think so."

"Okay then," she sat on the bed right next to me, "you can tell me what do you want, because I kinda didn't understand it before. You said you wanted to see a witch, so, assuming that I know one, why should I help you?"

That was it! Why should she? How could I convince her that she had to help me when I didn't know how to do so? Well, except telling her the truth. "I... I don't know why. All I know is that a girl who used to be my best friend touched into expression and turned evil and we were fighting and I tried to fight just as mom said but suddenly I am here and I need to know why or how to get back and..." Once again I started gibbering and didn't stop until Caroline put her hands on my shoulders. A single tear escaped from my eye and I knew the exact moment when she started to believe me.

Caroline (as I decided to call my mom2011 because having simultaneously two moms felt slightly confusing even for me) gave me some of her clothes which were not only less dirty but also way more stylish. I had a long hot shower and when I came down to the kitchen, the divine smell of eggs and bacon filled my lungs and heart all at once.

"So, I'll take you to see my friend," Caroline was sitting across the table playing with eggs on her plate. Not fair! I always get scolded when I do that and now I see that she used to do it too! "And we'll find out if she can help you. I called her and she said she'll try. But if for some witchy reason it won't work, you're welcome to stay with me for... well, for as long as my mom allows it. Good that she had a morning shift I don't know how I would explain your being here."

I smirked a little bit when I tried to picture it. _Hi, mom! A random girl slept in my bed yesterday. She just knocked on my door, told me that she knew I was a vampire and told me a lot of other lies, because she was actually my daughter from the future. By the way did I tell you that you're a grandmother? No? Well, surprise!_

"She sounds really nice, your mom, from what have you told me. What is she like?" I asked instead of snickering.

"She is nice. And awesome and loves me very much. We didn't get along a year or two ago, but I like to think that we're better now." She smiled and continued. "You know, she's actually called Elizabeth just like you."

Yeah. That I knew. I was after all named after her. I never met her, she died decades before I was born. They say it was a cancer and that it couldn't be helped but it didn't change the fact that I wanted to meet her.

The topic suddenly changed when Caroline asked a question. "Who is Kerra?"

I almost spit out bacon (which I would never forgive myself, because it was really good.) "I-I... Who?"

"Kerra. You were yelling her name in your sleep. I just wanted to know who she is." Caroline shrugged and waited for my response, but I was too lost in my memories to do so.

 _20.8.2056_

 _"Kerra! Mommy wants me to go to school next year. What am I gonna do? I want to stay home. Why can't just uncle 'Lijah teach me as he has till today?" I complained as I entered my room and sat on the carpet next to my best friend as our friendship bacelets were letting the world know. "And even daddy agrees with me. Although he's probably just worried about me. Mommy says that I need to get to know other kids."_

 _Kerra smiled reassuringly. She was only year and half older but she seemed so much wiser than me. "I go to school too. It's not so bad. Plus we'll see each other much more often!"_

 _"I don't care." I folded my arms. I was upset. Why can't the world just do what I want?_

 _But Kerra didn't give up. "Do you remember how I told you about that mean girl Felicity, whom I met in school...? The one who accused me of cheating when it was actually her who cheated?"_

 _"That's another reason. That... that... evil person! I don't want to have to deal with her! I don't like her and I didn't even met her." I was so lost in my grumbles that I did not realize where is she going with that._

 _Kerra only smiled wickedly. "And how are we going to get a revenge on her when you don't meet her?" I smiled right back at her._

 _Mom was surprised when I came to her asking when can I finally attend the school, but understood immediately after my headteacher called her to school to inform her that Kerra and I poured a can of paint on our classmate._

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "She... Kerra-, was my best friend."

"Really? But you sounded terrified..." Caroline furrowed her eyebrows with a concern.

"Can we... talk about something else? Please?"

"As you wish." She answered and we spent the rest of breakfast in an awkward silence.

* * *

Apparently Caroline's witch friend was out of town for a few days and after a thorough explaination Caroline's mom allowed me to stay as long as I needed.

It was... awesome.

I know I should be terrified (and in the beginning I definitely was), but who would pass up the chance to get to know your grandma? Or the younger version of your mom? I became friends with younger Caroline almost instantly. She said she had a feeling that she could trust me, that she felt as if she knew me all her life to which I only chuckled. I learned that she had an ex-boyfriend Matt who was nice to me, but I felt a little bit awkward in his presence. But that might be, because I knew him in the future, where he dated my aunt, so I thought of the whole idea of my uncle-being-kind-of-step-dad disturbing.

I also learned about her best friend Stefan and his current bloodsucking problems. And I also met Elena and Damon. Mom from my time was still in contact with them, but they never wanted anything to do with me because they and dad weren't on their best terms. I can only guess why. Noone ever told me. But here they didn't know my parentage. Damon was suspicious of me a lot and he was also, well, an ass, but Elena was sweet and took an instant liking to me.

Caroline also confided in me that a few days ago her dad died. She cried about it for quite a while and I felt bad because I didn't know almost anything about my grandad. His name was Bill Forbes but other than that... nothing. My parents didn't talk much about their past. Well, not to me.

But no matter how many friends I made here, I missed my dad and uncles and aunts and all of my friends from home...

Sure, out of millions places in the world I couldn't end up at the better one. Yet after two bloody days I was homesick as a little girl. So, I was really glad when Caroline said that her witch friend had returned from was finally available to help me.

We had to travel far away from the town, through the woods and there we entered the caves and went deeper and deeper. I wanted to ask where were we going but was distracted by the sight of Damon roaming around in the shadows. "Look what the cat dragged in - two blondies." He shouted and started marching towards us.

"Shut it, Damon!" Caroline retorted and tried her best to ignore him. Unsuccesfully. "What are you even doing here? Did someone leave your cage open again?" She was looking at him with her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Don't try to be a smart ass, Barbie, I came here to visit our dearest coffin, a witch who is guarding it and her older copy. The more important issue is..." He pointed at me and leaned back against the hard cold stone. "...what is **she** doing here? Did any of you at least consider an option that she might be working for you know who?"

Caroline's voice lowered as she faced him. "Two things. First, he's a hybrid not Voldemort. You can say his name. Second of all, I did, but I trust her now. Even more than I trust you. So, I would advise you to leave now. Scatter!" I looked at her in awe. I knew she was terrifying when she wanted to be but I guess I've never seen her at her worst. Yet assuming from Damon's stare this wasn't her worst.

"Yeah, you heard mo... Caroline," I quickly corrected myself, "go play in the traffic or something." I decided that if my mom didn't like him, I wouldn't either. What can I say? I was a loyal daughter.

Damon just shaked his head. "Aren't you two long lost sisters? Because you are a lot alike."

I sniggered but didn't have time to answer, because Caroline grabbed me by my elbow and led me further to the caves. Meanwhile I had a chance to talk. "So, your friend lives in the caves?"

"What?" Caroline asked slightly confused by my question and it took her a few seconds to answer. "No, of course not. She's here because she's trying to hide something from someone who is really evil, but in fact she has a house in Mystic Falls." She couldn't be more indefinite. What is that something? And who is that someone? She noticed me looking at her expectantly and muttered: "I'll tell you later."

We reached the end of the the passage and Caroline stopped. "I can't go in. Vampires aren't allowed to."

I calmly nodded but asked her unsure what to do. "Are you sure, your friend is here? Because I..."

A voice interrupted my train of thought when a girl only a few years older than me came out of the shadows. "I am here." I stopped dead in my tracks and all I could do for a moment was stare at her.

"Caroline, is she the one who needs my help?" She asked turning to Caroline.

She smiled. "Yes."

"And are you sure that we can trust her?"

"Positive, Bonnie." It was really cute how Caroline subconsciously acted by her maternal instinct. She was protective of me and I saw how much she was confused about it. She didn't know me yet, so she didn't understand it, but I did and that was more than enough for me. All of a sudden her phone rang and she answered it. Caroline listened for a while. "Fine, I'll be there." She said finally. "Sorry, I have to arrange something about dad's funeral. Call me, when you're done." With those words she vamped off and I was alone with...

Bonnie Bennett.

I should have known. Caroline and her were friends even in my time. I knew this. I just didn't think of it. Why? I should have. It made perfect sense! I escaped Kerra and I ended up here with my only chance being my mom's friend Bonnie. Just my luck.

I should have known. Why didn't it occur in my mind? I felt like I just saw a phantom.

But there wasn't any other way. I needed her help. And she was always nice to me. She was fair, righteous, brave, devoted to her loved ones,... I shouldn't be scared of her. I knew that she would not hurt me. I had to only shake myself out of the shock. She would help me. She was one of the most awesome witches in the world. Plus I was pretty sure, that being in past wasn't exactly keeping a nature's balance, so, she would help me even if only because of this.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked. I was probably too obvious with my shock and quarrels with myself about what to tell her.

"I'm fine..." Finally I pulled myself together and stood face to face with...

Kerra's mother.

* * *

 **Hi! Another chapter is here after a week. Woohoo? I'm not sure how I feel about it, so any response is welcomed.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention this in the first chapter, so here we go. This is just a fanfiction which means that I am just a fan and don't own any of the characters or places except maybe Eli or Kerra…**


	3. Revive To Meet

**Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **3\. Revive To Meet**

* * *

When Caroline left, Bonnie's face hardened with suspicion. "Who are you?" She asked coldly. "You came to Care demanding to see me, but how can I know that we can trust..." Her ranting continued and I knew that I didn't have time for this. It took me only seconds to consider my options and decide what to do, before I grabbed her hand.

She blinked as her predictions overhelmed her.

I remembered her telling me that she used to get these visions when she met someone for the first time so I thought that it's worth a try. Immediately I was assured I was right when her expession softened and she asked: "I... I... Do I know you?"

"Yeah, well, not exactly, probably not, but in some way you do, I mean I do know you but you don't yet," I bit my lip nervously. "Sorry, I talk too much, it's one of those traits my family keeps arguing after whom did I take it after."

Bonnie didn't seem that she was listening (and if she was, she definitely didn't understand. "I get this feeling only around people I trust the most or my family. Are we related?"

I shaked my head in silent disagreement, not wanting to start talking again. It was normal for me to be talkative but when I was nervous it was a whole new level. I hated when something didn't go according to the plan, when I had no control about what was happening. And when I was uncomfortable, I tended to express it very loudly and fast. Dad always laughed and said that I was so similar to mom and didn't even know it. When he said that for the first time to my four years old self frowned but with passing years I realized it was a compliment. And one of the best ones.

Bonnie was still trying to figure me out. "But if you aren't my family, how come that I feel like I can trust you? I've never met you. I don't know you. Who are you?"

I sighed. "Someone who needs your help." Then I put my hands on her shoulders and looked straight in her eyes searching for any sign of deceit or even a sign of thinking about betraying me. "Do you promise to not tell anyone?"

She opened her mouth to refuse but then her curiosity overpowered her and she nodded.

I inhaled shakily. "I... am from the future."

Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed but she didn't say anything.

"As in the time that is yet to come. I was born fifty three years from now and I messed up when I was doing a spell and I got sent here. And I don't know how to get back but I know that I need to! I need to help my parents. I _have to_ help my parents! They..." I was silenced by Bonnie's palm on my lips. I expected her to say something but she just stood there, looking wide-eyed. I opened my mouth to continue, but she signaled for me to not to, so I just closed it again. It took about twenty seconds before she finally said that one word I expected to hear since I decided to come here. "What?"

"Future. F...U...T...U..."

Bonnie stared at me, certainly not amused by my answer and I decided it would be better (for my physical health, judging by wary look on her face) to stop with my sarcastic remarks at least until she agrees to help me. She acted differently than her daughter. She would probably snicker or hit me playfully in the chest. Bonnie was almost the same age as Kerra and they were almost lookalikes, yet there was that seriousness as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her tired eyes resembled the Kerra from last year and half more than my best friend Kerra. I understood Kerra. I got why she was doing what she was doing. Was I a fool because I forgave already? Or because I never actually blamed her?

I shaked myself out of those thoughts. I should stop thinking about Kerra, no matter how hard it was when I was looking to her mom's face. I can deal with her when I come back. I tried to smile as reassuringly as I was able to and started talking again. "Look, I know that it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. I'm not asking you to do a spell and hurt yourself in the process due to lack of enough power, just... do the research. Go through your grimoires, ask other witches you know,... Please."

She eyed me suspiciously. "No offense, because you seem like a really nice girl and I'm almost 45% sure you're telling the truth, because not many people are insane enough to come up with this. And Caroline with Elena seem to trust you, but you see, there's like really murderous and ancient family of vampires in the town and one of them already killed Elena's aunt and Elena, although she was resurrected, and countless of others and I need to stop him. Something tells me that he can be stopped by whatever it is in this coffin," she pointed at the box in the center of the cave, I'd been wondering about, "but I can't open it. I even found my mother to help me, to no avail, she lost her powers a long time ago."

"What about a deal then?" I suggested cheerfully, happy, because I already knew what she was going to say. "We help each other and when I return, every witch in this country will praise you for keeping a nature's balance, because I'm sure that me being here broke it a big time. We're stronger together and we might be able to do it."

She contemplated only for a moment before she nodded slowly.

"Fine, then we have a coffin to open!"

* * *

There are a lot of situations when you think: _This is a wise decision that I'm making. I'm so clever!_ and a day later your mind changes from satisfaction to: _What was I thinking?_

Well, that was exactly what was happening now.

It seemed like a perfect plan. I'll help to set free whatever is inside and she'll find a spell to send me back.

Bonnie started chanting.

It was one seriously old spell from her grimoire. When I read it, I almost felt magic radiating through the yellowed paper and the words penetrating into my mind. Bennett was one of the strongest witch lines in the world and its grimoires were... something. The coffin started to shake but nothing more. And then I joined Bonnie repeating the same words over and over again until something cracked and the lid slowly as if almost carefully lifted itself.

Until then I was in that _I'm so clever_ phase. Then came up the _What was I thinking?_ one.

Because inside the coffin was someone whom I recognized from one of dad's sketches. He drew it for me, when I asked him to show me how my grandparents looked like. And this... was my grandmother. Not the nice one with a name Liz Forbes, but the other one. The homicidal, heartless, lunatic one from daddy's side.

I froze completely when I saw her standing up. She was supposed to be dead, I could tell that even she was surprised to wake up but she hid it immediately. She approached Bonnie and extended her hand. It pleased me to see, that since Bonnie didn't know how to feel about her, she automatically found my eyes in silent question. Faint shake of my head made her step away from her.

It was crazy. She didn't know me. Noone here did. But they all seemed to trust me. Maybe It was because of magic? Or emotions didn't depend on time? Maybe.

Esther caressed Bonnie's cheek. "Bonnie Bennett, I always loved Bennetts. Do you know that your ancestor was my close friend?" She smiled and turned to me. Bonnie seemed pretty creeped out by the fact that Esther knew her ancestor. She didn't know who she was, unlike me.

I held my head high when my grandmother started walking towards me, though my confidence wavered more with every step she took. But I was stubborn and decided that I wasn't going to let her win. This was just a powerplay, her walking so high and mighty so I would get scared and do whatever she wanted. It might had worked on this young version of Bonnie, who started practicing magic about a year ago, but I was raised by Mikealsons and while I might had missed few parties or sleepovers, I was intimately familiar with powerplay. Rule number one: never reveal your secrets too soon.

Esther stopped in front of me. We were looking into each other's eyes and she raised her eyebrows. "But you, Eli, are a mystery, aren't you? A few days ago you appeared out of nowhere, telling everyone lies." I really hoped she didn't hear our earlier conversation, but I didn't think so. I figured she'd been dead and watched us from the other side, but even she couldn't be everywhere and she seemed genuinely curious about me. "So, tell me? Who are you?"

I smirked in an answer. "Not unless you tell me first."

She didn't even flinch. "Please, call me Esther." I saw Bonnie gape at her but I didn't have time to ask her what was it about.

"Well, then. You can call me Eli."

Esther frowned and I got a feeling that it was not wisest to anger her. "No surname?"

"I didn't catch yours."

I saw a dangerous gleam in her eye and with that she left, my knees too shaky to follow her. "We probably should have learned more about that coffin before we opened it so foolishly, don't you think?" I asked breathlessly from overflow of adrenaline I just went through.

Bonnie hurried to me. "It was Esther!"

 _I know!_ I wanted to scream but then something clicked in my mind. "You know her?" She quickly shaked her head.

"No, but look here!" She helped me stand up, picked a candle from the ground, lit it with her mind and pushed me near one wall. There were... pictures. And writing. "Our friend Alaric, who is history teacher and can read runes translated those words as names of members of the exact same murderous family that we are trying to stop," she slowly pointed at _Rebekah, Elijah, Kol, Finn, Mikael,_ "...this is the guy who killed Elena" her finger pointed at another name and then finally settled at _Esther_. "And this is supposed to mean Esther. She's one of them! Damn right, we shouldn't have revive her!" Bonnie continued with her cursing, but I didn't pay any attention, because the name of a person, who killed Elena, sounded _Niklaus_. Good thing that uncle 'Lijah taught me almost every possible and impossible language including reading old Nordic runes.

How did it mom used to tell me? _Be positive. Think everything through. And no matter how crazy it seems at the moment, stay rational._

 _Okay,_ I thought, _let's state the facts. You learned four important things._

 _1\. Dad is here, in Mystic Falls._

 _2\. Mom's friends are trying to stop him, most likely by killing him._

 _3\. This is probably the reason why your parents don't talk about Mystic Falls._

 _4\. And you finally found out why Elena and Damon want to have nothing to do with me or my dad in the future._

 _Look at the bright side,_ I tried to reason with myself to calm down, _you could have had... acne._

It was a very desperate attempt to be optimistic but A for effort, right? Bonnie was still rambling about how stupid we are that we let Esther leave. "Stop it!" I yelled and she immediately did. But after a second she responded.

"Do you realize we just brought back to life a thousand years old witch?"

My eyes snapped shut as I was trying to think. "I do. But I am the one who will get scolded about it when I get home. You are going to be fine."

She took a few seconds to examine my expression. "You know what is going to happen, don't you? You said you are from the future, so..."

I sighed. "If only it was that easy, but I didn't live this. I only heard about this from my family and they didn't... well, tell me everything. Plus, I'm pretty sure that me being here completely changed everything." I explained, as understandable as I was able.

I could almost hear her thoughts. She bit her lower lip, something Kerra takes after her, and her eyes widened. "We... We know each other in the future, don't we? That's why I thought I knew you. Because I did! Just not yet." All of a sudden her hands jerked up to her cheeks. "Oh my god, you were telling the truth." For a while all I could hear were her hard breaths and I waited patiently until she started thinking clearly once again.

"You cannot tell anyone else." My words resonated in the silence of the cave and it made Bonnie snap her head up and eye me curiosly.

"Why not?"

I simply shrugged my shoulders. "I can't change more than I already did, who knows how would the future look like. You're a witch. _You_ out of all should know how important it is to keep an order of nature. Did nobody ever teach you basic rules?" I saw her look of sadness and finally understood. "They didn't, did they?"

She swallowed a sob. "My... grams died during one of my first spells."

It was so strange, being here and talking to my mentor who taught me a lot of those things herself. She was less experienced than I was. Was it selfish of me that I felt pleased with myself? "Okay, so, Witchy Basics 101: rule number one, always keep nature's balance, number two, don't hurt intentionally, the third one, don't meddle with vampire business,... there are hundreds of others and most of them are stupid or everyone broke them at least one, but number one and two are essential."

Bonnie furrowed her brows, confused. "But if it's against the balance, why did you do the spell that transported you here in the first place?"

My sigh must had been heard from miles away. "You think it was my intention?" I exclaimed irritated by her assumptions. "I already said I messed up! I tried everything! Every possible spell or curse I knew. I was desperate, okay? So, I tried one spell from my family grimoire that my aunt taught me and I must had - I don't know - pronounced it incorrectly! It was supposed to correct everything, not bring me... Unless..." I stopped, suddenly realizing how oblivious I was. I clenched fist and hit myself in the forehead. I regretted it instantly but as I hissed in pain my mind finally cleared. "Unless it worked perfectly as it was supposed to."

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked uncertainly but I paid no attention to her, because I finally knew what was happening. And it made perfect sense!

I was fighting Kerra in the future and the spell was supposed to correct the world. And because even magic isn't all powerful and cannot do everything within a blink of an eye it did the second best thing.

It sent me here to prevent the death that destroyed everything.

A corner of my mouth raised up in a small smile. I knew what I had to do. I could think of a plan. I wasn't kept in the dark anymore.

And that was all I needed to smile again. Because I actually stood a chance.

I rushed in front of Bonnie, hugged her tightly and didn't let her go until she started choking from the lack of oxygen. "You were right, Bonnie. It _was_ my fault! Thank you, for opening my eyes." I heard Caroline's voice from the entry to the caves and stopped my gleeful murmur. I didn't want her to know. I knew her. She was observant. She would figure out the whole deal about me being her and Klaus's daughter in less than a day. And since there are little... unstable relationships between her friends and him, I guessed that few secrets will be fit. After all what they don't know cannot hurt them.

"Bonnie, so, please look for any way to send me home, I'll be doing what I came here for, but when I'm done I will need you help." She raised her eyebrow in a questioning manner and I touched my ear. She seemed to get the message right away and gave me a small nod. "Promise, you're not going to tell anyone?" I whispered in a tender tone of voice and when she answered with a simple _yes_ I felt relief. Lies are full of words. When you're honest with all of your heart you don't need so many.

I turned away and started walking towards the entry and Caroline.

While will be Bonnie looking for a spell to return me home, I needed to make a lot of things better. Starting with stopping grandma Esther and ending with saving my uncle Kol.

And I might play a little matchmaker for my parents in the process, just for the fun of it.

* * *

 **OH MY GODS!**

 **Guys, you are awesome! Thank you for your support, because seriously? Almost one thousand views? Pinch me, because I'm either dreaming or hallucinating.**

 **So, I hope you liked this chapter and I'll try to post another one ASAP, but I'm going to Venice on Friday, so, I'm not sure, if I'll have a time, but I swear I'll try!**


	4. Learn To Climb Trees

**Hi!**

 **I'm sorry I'm late, but I didn't have time and when I finally did, my crazy beta had some personal crisis to deal with. I had to theaten her to hurt her to get this done. But I'm here now, so, I'll stop apologizing and explaining things, you don't care about, and get on with the story.**

 **I love you guys.**

 **Enjoy ;)**

* * *

 **Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **4\. Learn To Climb Trees**

 _14.12.2061_

 _"Dad wouldn't like at all it if he knew we are here." I said quietly while I was climbing yet another branch._

 _Kerra, a girl whom I loved almost like a sister, laughed. Her brown hair floated around her face with every little blow of the wind and her almost same-colored skin practically glowed in the sunshine. "Are you really scared of getting caught? I admit it. Your dad is intimidating but he'll do everything you say. Just like everyone from this family. And now hurry up!" With that sentence on her lips she stood up and jumped from the tree to... well, not to her death even though it surely seemed so, but on the roof. There she easily opened the window under her and climbed in._

 _"I'm not scared, I'm just stating the facts." I muttered under my breath and I heard her giggle. I stood up slowly. It was my turn to jump._

 _"Do I have to?" My breath hitched._

 _Kerra creased her brow. "Yes! Do_ I _have to remind you that it was your idea to spy on them?"_

 _Of course it was. I was the crazy one. Kerra was the one who took the craziness to a whole new level. Like a danger to your health. "Yes, I did, but how could I know that your plan involved words climbing, jumping and roof?" With that complaint which rolled off my tongue I jumped and quickly followed the example of Kerra in getting inside. She started clapping but I motioned for her to be quiet. We were after all in a house full of vampires. We couldn't afford being heard._

 _But we_ needed _to know what they were talking about._

 _We are teenagers! Sue us for being nosy!_

 _Week ago my family and Kerra's mom started acting suspicious. They kept whispering to each other, didn't tell us anything and just like I said we were nosy. So, without a further thought we sneaked to the attic to overhear their conversation. And here we were._

 _"I found a way to save him," I heard Davina say._

 _"Who ?" Whispered Kerra to my ear._

 _"Psst!" I admonished her for being too loud._ Seriously, we were spying on vampires!

 _Just as I expected the door right in front of us opened at the same second as she spoke and we were looking at our parents. Kerra and I smiled innocently, but our moms didn't seem exactly pleased with us being here. Although my dad was smirking, he was doing everything in his power, so mom wouldn't notice._

 _We should had look down at our feet bashfully and apologize but we didn't feel the need to. I eyed my mom bit offended. She and aunt Bonnie looked furious, that we went here behind their backs, which was not making me comfortable. But..._

 _"Mom," I started faintly, "we were curious! You're keeping secrets and we think that we have a right to know."_

 _Kerra to my left nodded confidently and continued. "Exactly! I'm fourteen, almost fifteen, and Eli is over thirteen. We're old enough to know!"_

 _"Yeah," I agreed with a triumphal grin on my face. I saw dad's smirk widen even more than before, at my confidence, which didn't disappear even when my mom glared daggers at him. "We're not children anymore!"_

 _"You are ours children!" Objected aunt Bonnie, but calmed down a little._

 _I almost felt their hearts tighten with worry and expected their resolute disapproval, when I saw mom sighing. "You're right. We should tell you everything."_

 _Kerra and I smiled at each other and nodded. "You should!"_

 _"So, to get everything straight," I said. I needed to put some sense into all of these informations. Everyone except Kerra and auntie Bex left the room after they thoroughly explained their plan. So, there were only three of us. Aunt Bonnie needed to prepare herself for the spell, Davina, Freya and 'Lijah were helping her with anything she needed, uncle Matt excused himself, that he knows nothing about anything, complaining that he has no idea why does he always get dragged himself into things he doesn't care about, and my parents... well, actually I was sure I didn't want to know what_ they _were doing, because before they left mom was glaring at dad for a long time, he then smirked, she sighed, he raised his eyebrows, Bonnie wrinkled her nose, aunt Bekah rolled her eyes and mom and dad both disappeared in their room..._

 _Yeah, I_ definitely _didn't want to know._

 _Instead of thinking about things, I was better not knowing, I asked. "You figured out how to resurrect my uncle Kol, who is dead for over forty years?"_

 _Bex nodded. She was sitting on the couch next ot the wall and she was inspecting her manicure while Kerra and I were pacing around the room and asking questions. The next one was from Kerra who looked just as bewildered as me. "And that's why you need my mom. Because she's the only witch here. Well, except for Davina and Freya, but they turned into vampires years ago and although they know a lot about magic, they can't use it anymore. Oh, and you were also a witch before you turned milleniums ago, but not anymore, so you need my mom to perform that spell, right?" My best friend stated a question, but didn't wait for the answer. "Right, because the only other witches are the two of us," she gestured at me and herself, "and I don't think that any of you would allow it with your overprotectiveness."_

 _Aunt Bekah tried to look mad but failed when corners of her full lips jerked up into a smile. "You two are a lot alike, you know that? You ramble just the same."_

 _"Of course," we answered simultaneously and I didn't even need to turn at Kerra to know that she was smiling as wide as I did._

 _"But I still love my niece more." Bex muttered and I beamed, but continued with questions. It was rare that we weren't kept in the dark and we planned to make every second useful. "And the one who found the spell is Davina, who was looking for it for as long as uncle Kol's been dead, because she is in love with him, and they dated before he died."_

 _Nod._

 _"They dated." I repeated._

 _Another nod._

 _"And noone ever told me."_

 _Bex chuckled. "You seem concerned much more about who was Kol dating and less about the thing that he's gonna live again." She raised her eyebrows with a grin on her lips. "Does it seem right to you?"_

 _I laughed along with her. "Don't get me wrong. I'm all for always and forever, it's just that I don't know much about your personal lives before I was born. Sorry, that I was surprised."_

 _"Well, I for one am exstatic." Kerra clapped happily._

 _I turned to her slowly. I had a bad feeling about this. "Really? It doesn't seem... unnatural to you?" I looked at her with worry but I was met with cheerful sparkle in her irises that were the color of springtime ferns growing wild and free in the woods. Innocent so far._

 _"Don's be such a buzzkill!" She poked me in the ribs grinning from ear to ear. "It'll be fun. Mom will do some superhero stuff, you'll get to meet your uncle and we will get to watch! It's gonna be so cool! What is unnatural about it?"_

 _I wasn't so sure about it. Kerra never took the nature's balance as seriously as she should and I knew that it was going to become a problem someday. But not today. I decided. "You're right, it will be awesome." My head moved up and down as if on its own. I forcefully changed my expression into a smile, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling, that was sitting at the bottom of my stomach, smothering me with doubts._

 _Stop it! I scolded myself. You're being ridiculous! You'll get to know your uncle Kol. That's what you've always wanted._

 _The smile that brightened up my face now was honest and much bigger than the one before. "Okay." I said in a barely audible whisper._

 _I spent the rest of the day with my best friend and aunt laughing, joking, telling stories and trying on different kinds of dresses. It was a wonderful day filled with hope and joy._

 _If only we knew what was about to happen three days later when the spell was about to be done, we wouldn't in such a lively spirit. If only..._

I was with Caroline in Forbes residence, chilling in her bed, when she suddenly sat up.

I wanted to ask what's happening, but quieted when she touched her earlobe silencing me. I stood up trying not to make a sound as Caroline flashed downstairs. I rushed after her, but I didn't have vampire speed, so, when I finally reached the door she was already there and fuming with rage a big box in her hands. Before I could open my mouth to say something she grabbed me by my arm and led me back to her bedroom.

"Did something happen?" I asked, now pretty confused.

"Someone," she made air quotes, that looked more like slashes thanks to her rage, "left this on my doorstep. Who does he think he is?! What is wrong with him?!" She was grumbling when she roughly threw the box on the bed. It pounced slightly, but I reached for it and quickly removed the ribbon.

I was surprised to see... a dress. And not just any dress, but THE dress. It was the one mom in my time keeps in closet like her most precious treasure. It was the most beautiful shade of royal blue I've ever seen and I felt my breathing hesitate at the sight. How could something, what is so familiar to me, look so strange in these surroundings? "I... What... Who sent you this?" I stuttered a question, but was unable to avert my gaze from the gift, therefore it took me a while to realize that she was handing me a card.

It was an invitation and I swear my heart skipped a beat when I saw words Mikaelson Ball. I turned the card around...

 _Save me a dance,  
Fondly,  
Klaus_

I swear I couldn't believe my own eyes and for a few seconds which seemed like an infinity all I could do was stare at the words. "There is going to be a ball?" I tried to mask my obvious surprise and shock, but I wasn't sure it worked.

Caroline shugged absently. "Yeah, Elena said something about it. She got an invitation, too."

"And the reason, why you're so frantic about it, is?" I was curious. _Come on! My mom just got an invitation to a ball from my dad and_ _was_ _really hysterical about it. Plus, her friends were trying to kill him._ It was pretty messed up situation and I planned to learn everything there was to know about their... relationship or whatever.

I saw Caroline's shoulders sink down with a deep sigh. She wanted to change the topic again and I sure as hell wasn't going to allow it. "Everybody here is giving me those stupid half-answers and I'm sick of it! Tell me. Please. I don't like being kept in the dark and I know you don't know me for a long time, but I can assure you that I'm going to find out one way or another."

"You are, aren't you?" She said with a ghastly reminder of a smile forming on her cheeks. "What do you know?"

 _You'd be surprised._ I thought, but aloud I said something slightly less sarcastic. "Not much. Bonnie told me that you are trying to stop some evil family of vampires and one of them killed Elena, who survived for an unknown reason, but other than that nothing."

Caroline moved, so we were sitting on the bed, looking each other in the eyes. Hers were just as I remembered with maybe a little sad glint in them. She was my mom while at the same moment she wasn't. This Caroline was more... girlish? The train of my thought was interrupted by her soft voice. "Okay, I'll tell you the short version." I nodded excitedly and she started.

"Okay, so... There is this like really ancient family of vampires. They are the first vampires in the history, the Originals. Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah,... and also two other brothers but I don't remeber their names." I furrowed my brow. Where was aunt Freya in all of that? But I kept silent and let her continue. "A few months ago Klaus came here, killed dozens of people, sacrificed Elena in order to become the all powerful Hybrid and left state only to come back later. We tried to make their dad kill Klaus, but he was killed by Klaus instead. And then Damon undaggered all of his siblings – Klaus' not Mikael's. And Bonnie was trying to open one coffin because she thought that inside would be something to destroy him."

It was so strange to hear mom talking about killing dad, or destroying... whatever. They were so in love in my time I just couldn't shake off the feeling as if I was in one of those sci-fi shows where they travel to parallel reality where everything is the same but somehow wrong.

I hated sci-fi.

"And Bonnie said that she finally opened it, she didn't say how she managed it,..." _Phew, so she kept my secret thankfully._ "...but there wasn't Klaus' doom inside as we hoped for, but Esther, who is Klaus' mother because that is just our luck. So, she decided to hold a ball to welcome the Mikaelsons, that ancient family, in Mystic Falls. Are you still following?"

I nodded, though it was only thanks to all those years I'd known her. I was used to babbling. _Hell, I tak_ _e it_ _after her!_ "Okay, so they are evil and they are throwing a ball, but I still don't know why is one of them sending you a personal invitation." _Except the fact that you're each other's epic loves._ I added in my mind, suppresing a little laugh at that.

Somewhere during her speech she stood up and was now pacing room, but when I voiced my confusion she sat down again, arms folded and a gleam of a killer in her eyes. "Well, because of some creepy Cinderella fetish or something!" She exclaimed and I tried to mask that the disturbing thought gave me creeps. "At first he goes on a killing spree, then he saves my life, which wouldn't even need saving if he didn't made Tyler bite me with this freaking venom and now he decides to invite me to this creepy ball? Who does he think he is?! Who does he think _I_ am?!" She layed down on the bed, breathing heavily while muttering a few other swears, which weren't exactly... mom-like.

I pressed my lips together. It was just so strange to hear her voice saying thoughts of a teenager. She seemed oblivious to me examining every step she took, every word she said, but I still tried to focus on something else. "Who is Tyler? A werevolf, I assume, judging by the venom, right?" I felt captivated by her eyes. So undifferent on the surface, yet so youthful after minute of examination.

"Tyler?" She looked at me perplexed for a moment, when I interrupted her outburst. "He's a hybrid, actually. Again, because of that stupid Original ass. We were all okay before he and his family came to town, Elena was happily dating Stefan and I was happy – _truly_ _happy_ \- with my boyfriend and my friends and..."

My jaw dropped to the floor. "You... have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Tyler. The guy you were asking about just now." She said with a shrug.

"You have... a boyfriend." I repeated completely dumbfounded, though my mind was actually screaming: _What about dad?!_

"I do. Although he's not here right now. He left to take care of some... personal things. I have no idea when is he coming back." She gave me small and melancholic smile but then her eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

My head shaked in an instant no. "No reason. I just thought, that since he sent you the invitation, that you and him might..."

"What?" Caroline's eyes widened before she burst in giggles. "Me and Klaus? Seriously?" She made strange noises with every exhale and it took a while before she managed to get her breathing under control. "No! Way! He's just a jerk who thinks, that just because he saved my life, I'll fall into his arms. As if that would ever happen." She scoffed the last sentence. "There's no way I'm going to that ball."

I smiled knowingly, pointing at the box that was lying next to us. The dress inside was beautiful and I knew Caroline good enough to know that she would never pass up a chance to wear it. "Did you even look at the gift he sent you?"

I'd seen her internal struggle whether or not to open it but eventually her curiosity defeated stubborness and she extended her hand to remove a lid of the box and when she did, she bated a breath.

I straightened my shoulders in that excited and annoying way, I always hated when someone else did, and tried to speak in as much innocent tone as I was able. "So, we're going to the ball, or not?"


	5. Dance, Drink, Be Ordinary

**Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **5\. Dance, Drink, Be Ordinary**

* * *

Caroline tried on every dress she had in her closet, before she gave up and admitted that the one Klaus'd sent her was without a doubt the best one. I was really glad when she finally did, because Miss Mystic's stash of dresses was bottomless and I slowly started to lose hope that we're getting out of the room today. Dressing up took us two whole hours and another one was spent persuading Caroline to let me attend the ball with her.

But after few pleases and cute dog's eyes (very effective if I may say), she finally gave in and lent me one of her dresses. It was in a gorgeous shade of a lavender, the skirt flowed down like a waterfall and its silver hem added a glint to it, that could be seen in the corner of my eye everytime I moved.

Brief description? I loved it!

It wasn't very ball-like, but that was what made it even better. I was used to rich gowns that were inwrought with brilliant colors and were suited for a princess (Of course, I did. Duh. I'm a Mikaelson. It's next to impossible to be a Mikaelson and never attend a ball or a dinner party). The simplicity of the dress (combined with the thing that IT IS MY MOM'S!) transformed it into the most bautiful piece of clothing I'd ever seen.

Caroline's teeth gleamed in a wide smile. "So, I take it you like it."

We were standing in front of the Mikaelson mansion, watching dozens of people enter, ready to enter as well, as soon as Caroline forces herself to. She was wearing the dress along with the diamond bracelet dad gave her. It wasn't too hard to convince to wear it, once she put on the dress.

"That's an understatement." I nodded beaming with excitement. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" My exclamation was slightly muffled by her hair, when I pressed myself to her in a bear hug. I had to blink a few times to forbid some disobedient tears of mine to escape the safety of my eyes. I yearned to come back home. The hug reminded me of the cruel truth, that no matter how awesome young Caroline is, she's no mom. Mom would hug me tighter, dad would join us, and I would feel safer, happier and much more loved.

But the hug from Caroline was the second best.

At last I finally let her go. "Let's go. We're gonna be late for your date."

I watched her expression turn from affectionate to a death glare in seconds. "It... Is... Not... A... Date!" She hissed but just a moment later she sighed defeatedly. "I'm just a sucker for a pretty dress."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"Trust me, I am going to." Caroline retorted, but was disturbed by ringing phone. She pulled it out of her purse and picked it up. "Bonnie? What is it?" I raised my head when I heard the name. "What? Why? ...Okay." She handed me the phone, brow furrowing. "She wants to talk to you."

I nodded gratefully and turned my head towards the mansion. "You go up ahead, I'll catch up with you."

I saw her take few tentative steps before she turned to me. "But make this really quick, okay? And then go straight to me."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, mom."

My heart threatened to stop at my slip, but Caroline didn't seem to notice. And if she did, she probably thought it to be me, making fun of her. No matter what she continued. "Seriously, we're at Originals' house and you're defensless, so,... be careful."

I snickered. "It seems, like you keep forgetting that I'm a witch. I can take care of myself."

Her expression changed slowly from perplexed to comprehension. Her smile was almost as wide as mine. "It seems I do."

I raised the phone to my ear and listened to footsteps, more and more distant, until she walked inside and I knew she couldn't hear me. "Hello, Bonnie. Did you find anything?"

A strange electronic voice, that was not very different from real Bonnie, answered my question while I was trying to figure out how did the device work. (Yes, I never used a mobile phone before. I'm from the future. We have holograms. Cut me some slack.) "Eli? Hi. I just wanted to tell you, that I might have found something and..."

"Wait." I stopped her. "Sorry, but I'm at the Mikaelson Ball and you know..." I touched my earlobe even though I knew that she couln't see me and continued with my explanation. "...too many prying ears. I was thinking we could meet sometime later. I'll come over tomorrow if it's no trouble?" I asked absentmindedly, because I caught a glimpse of my dad through one of those large windows. He was talking to someone, whose face I couldn't see, but assumed was Caroline judging by blonde hair and the fact that he was watching her almost like she was deity. This Klaus seemed just as much enamored with her as he did in future. Cheerfully, I bounced on the balls of my feet. If I can get rid of that inconvenient boyfriend, mom had and never told me about, this matchmaking stuff might be actually a very easy job.

"None at all." I completely forgot that I was actually talking to Bonnie before she spoke. "But why are you at the ball? They are really dangerous, Eli, Klaus especially! You should probably..."

Seriously? I got all that _protect those who you hold dear_ , but does everyone really have to forbid me to see my family? I get that they are all enemies and that noone knows they actually _are_ my family, but seriously? "I will be fine. Trust me. See you tomorrow." I said and ended the phone call before she could express her objections to my plan.

I intended to give Caroline her phone back, but when I found her drinking one glass of champagne after another and trying to not too obviously stare at Klaus (unsuccesfully), I decided not to disturb her. Instead I headed towards further side of the hall, where I'd caught a glimpse of Elena's brown hair. She stood in front of Damon. Her eyes locked with him, both of their looks fierce with anger and... something else. I knew those looks. That desire to be right and to protect each other. Caroline might not like Damon, but whether Elena knew it or not, she was in love with him.

I pitied Stefan, who stood awkwardly next to them. Although it didn't seem like he noticed the reason of their tension, he definitely noticed the tension itself. Stefan was a good guy and he definitely didn't deserve to be heartbroken when his exgirlfriend (or whatever kind of relationship they had right now) gets together with his brother. Personally, I had no idea why would someone choose Damon over Stefan, but I knew that you cannot command your heart.

"Elena, you're not supposed to be here!" Damon insisted louldy but not loud enough to cause a scene.

Her irises blazed determinedly. "Well, I'm already here, aren't I?"

Damon took a few resolute steps towards her and his lips formed a hard line. "You are no way going to see Esther. I don't care if she wants peace, it's dangerous." I freezed. Esther invited Elena here? Why? To devise her evil masterplan to kill everyone?

"Elena is right." Stefan said, moving closer to them. Damon turned to his brother, infuriation apparent in his face.

"Nuh-uh." Damon rejected his claim. "You don't get to voice an opinion, until you're back to your old self. The one that cares about Elena's well being."

The doppelganger uttered a sigh. "Damon, don't be an ass..."

"Sorry, to interrupt." I muttered, not feeling particulary sorry at the moment.

Damon rolled his eyes, but otherwise said nothing, Stefan stood indifferently. Elena, on the other hand, being as friendly as always, hugged me. "Eli! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Elena." I smiled. "I came with Caroline. She's here..." My eyes wandered to where she was standing and trying to avoid casting curious glances at Klaus. I could tell that she was really confused by his invitation. "...somewhere. I heard you guys talking about Esther just now. She is the one who threw this party, isn't she?" When I noticed how Damon eyed me suspiciously, I added quickly: "Well, I assumed so, from what Caroline told me."

"Yeah, right. Little Blondie here is asking all these questions because of curiosity." Damon's jeer made me turn my head and glare at him.

After all those days I spent here, I learned that emotional connections with people, who knew me in the future and trusted me, loved me, lasted all the time till now. It was strange. It was weird. No! It was completely insane. But... Bonnie, got this prediction, that she could trust me. And Caroline... she trusted me ever since I knocked on her door, she believed the stupid story I made up, she introduced me to her friends without even a moment of doubt. She protected me. Like a mother.

Salvatores on the other hand were a completely different case. They didn't know me (or they _won't_ know me. Stupid time travel! How am I supposed to conjugate verbs like that?) and they didn't share any emotional connection with me that could last. Fortunately, Elena was trusting. Maybe a little bit too much, but it only played into my hands. Stefan... well, he was too moody and too concerned about other things, to care whether or not I'm trustworthy enough. But Damon... to say that he was suspicious was an understatement. I put on a fake smile and looked him up and down. "Damon! I see you've chosen to humiliate yourself in the public."

Elena put a palm on his chest to calm him down. "Yes, Esther sent me an invite asking to see me. I want to find out what she wants, but someone," she glared daggers at that said someone, "doesn't let me make my own choices."

"Well, because they're suicidal!" The older of the Salvatores exclaimed but before a real argument could start we were disturbed.

"Elena Gilbert, I presume." I heard a thick British accent behind me. I didn't even need to hear his next sentence to know who was its source. Accent indicated Mikaelson and the fact that I didn't recognize it meant...

"I'm Finn Mikaelson." _Bingo!_ He said handing Elena a glass of champagne. "You're here to see my mother."

Elena looked around, looking for something that wasn't there. "Is she here?"

"Her request did not include your friends." My uncle said instead of answering and tilted his head at Salvatores. _What was wrong with him?_ He didn't smile. He seemed... boring. Kol was much more fun. Bloody hell, even 'Lijah had probably better sense of humor.

She looked him in his eyes, trying to seem fearless, but didn't succeed, when she shuddered. "They're protecting me. You may not know, but your mother's already tried to kill me once."

I let out an unintentional chuckle and ignored Damon's scowl, turning to doppelganger. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just... Did seriously everyone from this family tried to kill you?" I asked suppressing another burst of giggles. It seemed that Finn didn't notice me until now. He looked me up and down, before he curled his lip, clearly annoyed by my behaviour. Yeah, I definitely liked my other uncles more.

Elena answered, corners of her mouth jerking upwards. "No. Just Klaus and Esther. Oh! And Rebekah last night, but I get why she was angry, so..."

I nodded smiling widely. This was like one of the best reality shows I've ever seen.(Of course I would never say it to my mom face to face.)

"If you want to see my mother, you'll need to be alone." Finn stated, already tired of our chit-chat.

Before Elena or any of her bodyguerds could answer, Finn excused himself and a familiar voice announced. "Uh, If everyone could gather please."

Everybody turned towards stairwell, where stood... my breath caught in throat. My family.

I saw my fun uncle Kol with his usual playful grin plastered on his face, auntie Bex, my dressshopping buddy. The one who was talking was 'Lijah, my dear, always responsible, uncle and mentor, and behind him... stood dad.

I don't exactly know how to describe dad. I mean... I never had to do so. The only thing that mattered now was that I saw him and that I knew I will be okay. He had this effect on me. I bit my lip to persuade myself not to run to him and hug him. I didn't think he would be very happy with me if I did so.

"You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this," Elijah continued his speech, "it's a tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." I stopped listening when I spotted Esther descending the stairs. She scanned the crowd, until her haughty eyes settled on our little group.

"Do you see, what I see?" Damon asked Stefan from behind me. "She's watching Elena, we shouldn't have let her here."

But no matter what they thought, I knew that she was looking at me.

Me.

It seriously gave me the chills.

* * *

Everyone gathered at the dance floor, and while standing there and ogling all those couples seemed like a perfect idea, I figured that this was the best time to sneak out to Esther. I needed to know what she was up to. Just because I shouldn't change past, didn't mean that I wouldn't. Dad told me that when she was alive, she wanted to kill them all and that was something I wouln't allow. No one hurts my family and lives.

I climbed the stairs, and knocked on three doors, before I found the right one. Esther opened and didn't even bother to look surprised, which might have irritated me a little. "Hi!" I gave her a sour smile, "I'm sure you've missed me," and closed the door. Everything fell silent. "Burning sage?" I asked and was a bit pleased when she raised her eyebrows. Any reaction was a good reaction.

Esther's calculating eyes fixed on me, observing, detecting any possible danger to her plan I might be. "Eli. I wanted to talk to you, tonight."

"Well, then you're lucky." I dimpled. "I wanted to talk to you just as well." My smile even widened at the mischievous thought. "But you're older, so you go first."

She pursed her lips. "You're a strange creature, Eli, aren't you?"

I nodded enthusiastically and pretended not to hear her snarl.

"What do you know about the coffin my body was in for thousand years?" She tried a different approach. "The one you, along with Bonnie Bennett, opened."

I frowned mockingly in a fake concentration. "Uh... Not much."

"Well, It was spelled by my friend Ayana, who was an ancestor of dear Bennetts, and by me." She eyed me closely and I felt uncomfortable under her gaze. As if I was naked. "Which means the spell could be broken only by her and my blood combined. Which brings us to the question: Who are you, Eli?"

 _Great._ I thought sarcastically with a sigh on my lips. _Just my luck that the only one who finds out about my identity is the main antagonist._

When I didn't answer, she continued. "My children are vampires and you are a witch. They cannot father nor bear a child. Which means..." She balked at the thought. "Are you Freya's child?"

I stopped. This was the first time someone even mentioned aunt Freya. I didn't know what happened to her or where she was, but I definitely wasn't about to tell that to my evil granny, so, I nodded in an annoyed manner and spoke, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, right. You got me. Ta-dah!"

Although it was her who came up with the idea, she didn't look very convinced. "I've been watching everything from the other side for over a thousand years, how come I've never heard mention about you once?"

I shugged indifferently. "Maybe I just like my privacy undistorted."

"No." Her hand stroke her chin. "I don't think you are. You just don't want me to know the truth."

"Bingo." I said lazily, this game of 'Who Knows More' already tiring me out. "Why did you say, you wanted to talk to me, when you're the one who does all the talking?"

Esther waved her palm and suddenly I felt smothered by an air. "I just wanted to let you know, that I'm onto you." I tried to concentrate and the invisible hand around my neck disappeared only to return moment later twice as strong as before. There wasn't even a wrinkle of concentration on Esther's forehead. She took a step closer, still keeping her eyes locked with mine. "Don't be fooled. You may be a witch from a powerful line, but you're still just an ordinary witch." Just when I thought that I won't take another second without the oxygen, she released me from her magical grip. "Now off you go." She opened the door for me and looked me in the eyes for the last time. "And do not even think about crossing my plans."

* * *

I stood in the corner of the hall, dozens of people moving in sync on the dance floor. Elena just left Esther's study and was now talking to Elijah about how Esther wants only peace. It sounded like such a bull that I knew immediately, that something was up. My wounded pride hurt more than bruises on my neck. I'm an _ordinary_ witch? Who does she think she is to insult me like that? She had no idea who I'm and what I'm capable of.

A waiter offered me a glass of champagne. "No, thanks. I'm underage." I answered out of habit, before I froze. "Wait, actually..." The waiter rolled eyes at my indecision, but let me take the glass without a second of fear of jail. Compulsion is a wonderful thing. I sniffed at the champagne. _I'll show you an ordinary witch._

I knew a lot of spells. All I did in my life (except pranks with Kerra and later on with Kol) was studying magic. Most of my aunts were witches at one point in their lives and they taught me everything they knew. It was easy to smell a simple binding spell. Esther wanted to bind... someone... I remebered what dad told me: "My mother thought we were an abomination and she planned to get the world rid of us."

Esther wanted to kill Mikaelsons.

Which meant that they cannot drink it if I want them to live.

Elijah was the closest to me and I rushed to his side. "Matt was asking for you, Elena. I think you should go find him, so, he doesn't worry." I quickly lied. 'Lijah looked annoyed that I interrupted them, but Elena seemed relieved and her lips even formed a silent thank you, happy she doesn't have to lie anymore, guilt evident in her eyes and a rapid heartbeat. Good, she should feel guilty for helping to kill my family. She excused and left as fast as she could and my uncle turned to me.

"May I know why you chased miss Gilbert away?" It was such Elijah thing to say that I got an irrational urge to tweak his suit, to make sure he's real.

"Sorry," I apologized, smiling like a crazy. I really had to restrain my emotion a bit. I turned my head hoping that nobody is listening our conversation, though I doubted that I would notice if someone was. "It's just..." I hesitated. How am I supposed to explain everything to him? The answer was easy: I wasn't. But I was running out of time before someone he or his siblings take a sip and I couldn't allow it. "Don't drink that!"

His brow furrowed. "And why shouln't I, miss...?"

"Eli," I added.

"Alright, why shouldn't I, miss Eli?"

"Because..." I took a deep breath. _There goes nothing_. "Look, I don't have time to explain. There's a spell in the champagne, your mother put it in there, and you cannot drink it and you have to help me stop your siblings from drinking it too and I promise I will explain later," Oh dear, I was rambling again. "but for now I need you to trust me."

'Lijah seemed taken aback by my explanation, but not confused by its presentation. "And who are you, miss Eli? Why should I trust you?"

I shifted my weight from one foot to another, already impatient. "You should trust me, because something inside of you is telling you to do so, also because you never trusted your mother that she wanted a peace and, for God's sake, stop with that miss nonsense! It's creeping me out." He raised his eyebrows whether from amusement or thinking, I didn't know.

"You're right, I do have this feeling to trust you. What are you? A witch?"

"Yes!" I had the urge to hit him somewhere where it would hurt, so he would finally listen. "Look, even if I was lying... All I'm asking you to do, is to not drink one glass of alcohol. What worst could happen?"

He slowly nodded and I let out a relieved sigh. "Alright, get another bottle, fill the glasses and help me replace them with the ones you sibling already. Quickly!"

I swear it was one of the most tense moments in my life, when we were running around the ballroom, convincing them, why they should drink one glass of wine rather than the other. We already replaced dad's, Bekah's and Kol's, when Elijah stopped me. "Don't go to Finn."

"Why?" I asked, although I knew very well why.

"He'd come running to mother." He explained what I was thinking. There must be a reason, why I didn't know Finn personally in the future. Just then Esther came.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." I wanted nothing more than to wipe that victorious smirk off her face. "I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening." She raised her glass. "Cheers."

I watched her, as she closely paid attention to her children, making sure that everyone drank. I smiled conspiratorially at Elijah and took a sip and I didn't stop smiling even when that disgusting taste of wine, that I disliked, touched my tongue. Elijah finally spoke. "Now, that we've cleared this up, you can start explaining."

"Yeah, right." I nodded jerkily, but didn't continue, when I saw Caroline heading towards me. I faced 'Lijah, who looked like he noticed her too. "Later?" I asked and he grumbled, not exactly satisfied but not willing to argue either.

"Eli!" Caroline yelled, clearly angry. I just hoped she wasn't angry at me. She looked at Elijah, trying to figure out why would I be talking to him and spoke uncertainly. "Uh, hello?"

"Hello, miss Forbes." Elijah answered with a nod of his head.

Caroline watched him carefully for a second, before she turned to me. "I'm going home, will you go with me?"

"Why? It's barely ten p.m.." I wondered. "Don't you want to stay any longer."

"No." Caroline started explaining. "Because my plan is to do a very dramatic exit and it won't happen if I don't leave right now."

I swear that I heard an amused chuckle escape Elijah's lips, but I agreed nonetheless. "Fine, let's go." I waved at 'Lijah and she was already dragging me out to the chilly evening air.

"Can I ask, what happened tonight?"

"No." Caroline muttered.

"Are you angry at Klaus?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"Probably."

We walked through the gardens to her car and when we reached it, we got in. We sat in silence while Caroline was trying to calm down her breathing.

"Where is your bracelet?" I asked, not seeing it anywhere.

"Threw it at him." She grumbled with a heavy breath, murder flashing in her eyes. I figured that by _him_ she meant Klaus.

I let out a whistle. "Romantic..."

I saw that she was trying hard not to strangle me (or anyone, who talked to her in this shape), so I rather stopped.

She was angry, I could tell. There was that glint of unstoppable fire in her eyes which reminded me of the look Elena was giving Damon earlier in the evening. I smiled to myself. She may not be in love with him yet, but he certainly got under her skin.

She was head over heels for him and didn't even realize it, yet.

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **How are you? I hope I made your day better with this update. I wanted to update yesterday, since it was my birthday, but I kinda failed to deliver, because this chapter turned out to be a bit longer than I planned.**

 **I don't know what else to say, just that, you guys, are awesome, I love you and I will love you even more if you leave a review or follow or favorite or whatever you wonderful people do. :D**


	6. Don't Forget Your Herbs

**Hi!**

 **Yes, I know and I'm so SO sorry, I know I made you wait for SO long and I feel horrible. After the first two months, I wanted to blame my best friend's dad, because he made me do one challenge, but after that even I don't have an excuse. I was busy with school plus this chapter was super-hard for me to write, so,... yeah, that's it. All I can say is that I regret my actions and hope that this chapter was worth the wait.**

 **Love you, guys.**

 **Peace out!**

* * *

 **Not-Yet-Relatives**

 **6\. Don't Forget Your Herbs**

"He was gloating, like actual gloat!" Elena was describing events of this morning and I was trying really hard not to throw up. Or die of embarrassment. Either one of those.

Damon slept with Rebekah...

Wow!

My cheeks burned a dark red. I wasn't used to sex talk. I mean: yes, I did talk about the sexual life of others with my friends, that wasn't what was weird for me, the thing was that I never once talked about the sexual life of my aunt. It was just... Eww. But it wasn't as if I could tell them this to make them stop, so, instead I looked down on the sheets of the bed I lied on and pretended not to be here.

Elena didn't mind. She didn't notice at all as she kept venting about Damon and pacing around the room. Bonnie and I were sitting on the bed, me rolling from one side to another, trying to find a comfortable position, while Bonnie had her eyes closed and her brow furrowed with concentration. She was holding a herb in her hand, trying to figure out, how did the privacy spell work. Elena told us before, that Esther burned sage to prevent any vampire from listening. Bonnie was fascinated and decided to learn it.

She's been trying for over an hour and a half - unsuccessfully. So, while she tried over and over again, Elena's task and mine were to talk and Caroline's to listen from behind the door, to make sure it's working.

I myself couldn't find a topic to talk about, but fortunately, there was always Elena and she was - How to say this nicely? - pretty talkative. Especially when something angered her, which Damon definitely did. Except for occasional "Hmph..." I kept silent because I wasn't needed. She did all the talking herself.

"...Like he was proud of himself for sleeping with her." Elena continued with her ranting about Damon's - The Demon's - sexcapade and my eyes unintentionally rolled upwards. There was only so much a girl could take.

Finally, Bonnie saved me, when she opened her eyes, breaking her concentration, and asked: "Is it working?"

"It's not working," Caroline stated the obvious when she opened the door. She had an annoyed expression on her face, ever since they told her to go outside and test if the spell works. "I can hear every word you're saying about Damon, the vampire gigolo." I sniggered. That was a much better nickname than mine.

Bonnie sighed. "I don't know. It's a tricky spell."

"When Esther did it, she kept the sage burning. There was a lot more smoke." Elena tried to explain and I had to suppress a laugh at that. It was funny to watch the one who taught me this spell in the first place, trying to figure out how to do it. I gave her some time to figure it out herself, but eventually, I thought: _What's the harm?_ I can teach my own teacher. Mentor my own mentor. It'll definitely be one hell of a story when I come back.

"Your hand needs to touch the flame," I interjected making all heads turn to me.

"You know how to do it?" Caroline's voice was filled with disbelief. "How?"

I pointed at my chest. "Witch, remember?" Every one of them knew I was a witch - Bonnie even knew about the future thing, except the whole _I'm Caroline and Klaus' daughter_ mess - but they all seemed to forget it. They treated me as if I was a child who knew all about the supernatural but had to be protected.

This time-traveling spell was seriously messed up!

But also pretty adventurous.

I turned towards the witch and started explaining details about the spell. "You need to burn your finger a bit for it to work. You don't have enough experience to do the spell by yourself, so, using a bit of your DNA is like... a shortcut. I believe in due time you'll be able to make the sage burn without it."

Elena gaped at me. "And.. and... you know how to do this spell? Do you know other spells?"

I nodded. "I know a few. I'm not as powerful as Bonnie here, but I had an excellent teacher." I winked at Bonnie mischievously and she gave me a confused look, not realizing that she, in fact, was the one I was talking about.

"All right. Try it." Elena ordered and I rolled my eyes again. Elena always needed to be center of the attention. She seemed nice at first, but as I got to know her, I grew more and more tired of her. She would sacrifice herself to save one of her friends, but she wasn't able to accept the fact, that she wasn't the most important person in the room. As if Bonnie couldn't do it without her permission. She took another sprig of sage and held it close to the candle, while Elena directed an expectant look towards Caroline, who was leaning against the doorframe. Mom rolled her eyes, annoyed at Elena's behavior, and closed the door.

Bonnie hissed when the flame licked her fingers and quickly pulled her arm back. The sage was now smoking a lot and when we called for Caroline and she didn't answer, I went for the door to let her in. She nestled onto the bed between us. "Ok, this privacy spell is totally working. I couldn't even hear your heartbeats." She turned her head at me. "You're good."

"Thanks," I beamed. "I know."

"If you know even the spells that Esther performs, then what is it you said you needed Bonnie's help for?" She raised one eyebrow in suspicion and I let out a nervous laugh. My beam immediately died down and I mouthed "Help!" towards Bonnie.

Fortunately, she understood and fulfilled my request. "Speaking of Esther," she started, leading the conversation elsewhere for which I was thankful, "you should know she came to see me and Abby this morning." Everyone's (including my) eyes widened and Elena quickly turned around to look at Bonnie.

"And all this time, you let me vent about Damon?" She plopped down on the bed and I was forced to move, to make a place for her. I turned to Caroline and patted on the bed, signaling her to sit down with us.

"Who is Abby?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Bonnie's mom," Caroline whispered back and I nodded in understanding.

Elena ignored us both and continued with her questions. "Ok, well, what did she want?"

Bonnie shrugged. "She wanted to introduce myself. She's channeling our entire ancestral bloodline for power."

I raised my head in alarm. "What did you say?" I asked even though I heard perfectly.

"And... Is there a way to stop her from channeling you?" Elena asked at the same time. Of course Bonnie answered her and not me.

"Even if there was, why would I want that?" The Bennet witch pondered. I couldn't help but give her a death glare, which she didn't see, because her eyes were fixed on the doppelganger.

"I just keep thinking..." Elena sighed tiredly as if she wasn't sure what to do. "Before the sun and the moon ritual Elijah found a way to keep me alive. And now I'm in the exact same situation and I'm just gonna let him die? It just doesn't feel right." _Tell me about it. That's my family you're talking about._

Caroline, who was quiet till now, broke the silence and added her opinion to the debate. "Elena, you are not doing this. Esther is doing this."

Okay, I like the future version of my mom better.

"There's no time to change your mind, Elena." Bonnie had a sympathetic look on her face which would make me want to punch her if I hadn't stopped Esther's plan already yesterday. "He'll be dead by the end of the night."

"What?" Exclaimed Elena.

"It's a full moon. Esther needs to harness the energy of a celestial event. She's gonna do the spell tonight." She gulped. "They're all going to die."

 _Oh, you have no idea how wrong you are..._

* * *

Caroline left about half an hour ago.

She offered to wait for me, but I told her that Bonnie will give me a lift. I needed to talk to her, so I thought I could do it on my way back to Forbes' residence. We said bye to Elena and I sat on the passenger's seat next to Bonnie, who was already seated, observing my every move.

"So, how is 2011 treating you?" She asked with a little smile playing on her lips. Normally I would smile along, but after what we were just discussing, I couldn't.

"Amazingly," I replied sarcastically with a scoff. Bonnie gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head and changed the topic. "So, have you figured out, how I can return back?"

Bonnie paused with keys in her hand and turned to me. "I don't know for sure yet. Although... I thought about what you said earlier - that you did a spell to get here. If you're right, then there is no way to make you come back, until you do, what you're intended to."

I nodded lost in thought. "Yeah, I thought so too." I knew what I needed to do, but there was also something else. "It's just... In the future - from where I'm from - I know you, guys. You, Elena, Matt, Caroline..." I exclaimed affectionately, throwing my arms in the air. I was probably overreacting a little bit, but I didn't care. "I know you, and I was just thinking. I mean in the future - you are the one who teaches me everything about magic..." I stopped for a while when I saw Bonnie's face. "Oh my, I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

"A little." Bonnie giggled and that heartfelt sound made my heart ache.

I returned her smile, while nervously playing with a strand of my blonde, barbie-like, hair. "What I'm trying to say; Even though I came here to change the past, there are some things that should happen without me intervening and I wanted to ask you if..." I stopped when I noticed a movement in the corner of my eye.

"What's...?" Bonnie started but I shushed her and pointed towards the door to Elena's house. She didn't understand at first, but I could tell the exact second she did. Her eyes widened when they wandered to the person standing on the porch and the air around us vibrated with hardly contained magic.

She used to do this often. Every time she felt angry, scared or threatened she lost control and the magic touched the surface. She was a novice to all of this, supernatural and stuff. She hasn't been taught and prepared for this ever since she learned to walk. I was.

Never, in my whole life, I have ever felt more mature than right now. I've always been this little girl who would look up to her family and admired every one of them. True, I was self-confident (I was a Mikaelson after all). I knew I was strong - even more so once I'd trigger my werewolf curse - but it has always been just a pretty thought. I've been surrounded by people who were all stronger than me, more experienced, at all times. I didn't know this feeling. Power.

I liked it, actually. I liked it a lot.

I took Bonnie's hand in mine and already could feel the magic concealing itself as she calmed down. Her rigid breathing slowed down just by the reassuring touch of my palm. "Don't," I warned her.

"But he's going to hurt Elena!" She protested frantically and her eyes didn't leave the man at the front door, who acted as if he didn't notice us yet, but we knew better. Quietly I reached into Bonnie's backpack, that was lying on the back seat, pulled out the remains of sage and burned it. I had a feeling this would take a while. Elijah could wait.

"He won't." Corners of my mouth moved upwards. "I'll go talk to him."

Her hand whipped to my arm, preventing me from leaving the car. "No! Are you crazy? He'll kill you!"

I gave her a hard look and jerked my hand out of her grasp. I got angry. _Hell! I got bloody furious!_ She doesn't know half of what I do but still believes, she is in the right. "Hey!" I snapped. "I get that you're trying to help, but you aren't helping! I know so much more than you. You all..." I pointed to all the directions around me. "... you are all children playing in an adult world."

"You are younger than all of us!" Bonnie argued and my blood boiled. "You _are_ a child!"

"Yes, I am!" I screamed so loud, Bonnie was taken a bit aback. The car plunged into silence as I exhaled to calm my rapid breathing. I looked her straightly in the eyes and refused to be intimidated by those (scary) green eyes. "And you know what? That's what makes me more mature than all of you combined." I raised my voice again. "I don't think he would hurt me anyway."

"You don't know them as we do!" I snickered at that, but she was too immersed in her thoughts to notice. "They killed thousands of people over the years. Why do you think an Original standing on the porch of the famous doppelganger - who is, by the way, our friend - would do anything different than what he's used to? Kill and hurt?"

"How can you hate them so much?" I asked silently, evidently hurt, although I was sure, she would never figure out why.

"How can you not?!" Her scream was so loud, it shook the vehicle itself. Elijah turned his head towards us despite the smoking herb in my hand and stopped his hand a few inches from the door. Instead of knocking he decided to watch us argue, which irritated me even more than I already was. "After all the stories we told you. How? Just because you're from the future doesn't mean you know more than we do."

"Yes," I opposed boldly, "actually it does."

Bonnie inhaled and coughed, because of the smoke from the sage that filled the car with an unpleasant smell of burning grass. "Alright, I'll put it differently. Just because you're from the future doesn't mean you're always right."

I gave her my dimpled grin. "But it doesn't mean the opposite, either."

She said nothing.

I uttered a sigh. "Look, you just need to trust me in this. Back home - in the future, I mean - you're my family. You taught me everything I know and I would never do anything to endanger you." As soon as the sentence left my mouth, my heart sank, but Bonnie was too overwhelmed with what I said before.

"Family?" She asked breathlessly, all the fighting suddenly forgotten.

"No! Not what you think. You're like an aunt to me, but we aren't blood-related - well, except when Kerra and I took that blood oath to be best friends forever, so, I suppose you could say that I have some of your blood since me and she exchanged it..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Bonnie stopped. "Who is Kerra?"

I bit my tongue and looked at her with a pang of guilt in my chest.

"You can't tell me, can you?"

I nodded.

"I'm guessing it would mess with the balance?"

I nodded again.

"Okay, I can live with that." She let out a sigh and I gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Now that we'we cleared this up can I...?" I pointed awkwardly at Elijah, who raised his eyebrows but otherwise stayed completely motionless. I knew he couldn't hear a thing we said because of the spell, but I still didn't feel comfortable with talking about all of this barely hundred feet from him. "Can I maybe talk to him? I promise I'll be safe."

Bonnie didn't seem quite convinced, but my pupils penetrated her until she involuntarily agreed.

"Thanks, could you maybe cover for me? Like, tell Caroline that I'm safe and I'll come later?" My face brightened with an innocent smile playing on my lips.

She watched me with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "You think that I'm not going to figure out a way to send you home, don't you? You fear you'll get stuck here. And that's why you want to talk to Originals. You know that if there's someone who can help you, it's them." She was looking down when she told me this and I rolled my eyes annoyed by her lack of self-confidence. Unfortunately, I couldn't just tell her: _Oh, well, you know, 'Lijah is my uncle because Klaus is my dad and my mom is one of your besties Caroline and I'm sure you believe me and still want to help me, right?_

"No, it's not that."

"What then?" she asked and the determination in her voice reminded me of Kerra.

Instead of tears that threatened to escape my eyes, I shook my head. "I can't tell you. It would..."

"Mess with the balance?" she guessed.

"Yep."

"Thought so."

I waited two whole minutes to make sure she was gone before I approached Elijah.

He had a calculating expression on his face as he watched stop in front of him and do a little curtsy from sixteenth century (which I learned from him and never thought that the knowledge of decorum of past centuries would be any use for me, but it worked well to make fun of my not-yet-uncle), successfully surprising him.

His surprise didn't last long. "Miss Eli," I cringed my nose that he addressed me as 'miss' again. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" His eyebrow rose up in a curious manner. "I came here with intention of talking to Elena, however, I do believe you are going to be a much better source of information, concerning matters of yesterday. Am I right?"

I sneaked a glance at the windows to Elena's room and was glad when I saw no one. "Sure," I answered absent-mindedly. "Just... Could we take this somewhere more private? I know how much Damon loves hovering around this house and I don't feel like spilling all of my secrets."

"Very well then," he agreed and led me towards his car.

* * *

We spent the whole ride in silence. It was a bit awkward but at least I had some time to think through what I'm gonna tell him. Not that I did, actually. I just sat there, kept my mouth shut and watched houses and later the trees speeding behind the window. Finally, 'Lijah stopped the vehicle and we got out of the car.

The awkward silence was interrupted by Elijah, who looked around nostalgically and breathed in the air, he didn't need. "I forgot how much I missed this land."

I didn't expect him to deviate from the topic, but I went along with it. "You lived here a thousand years ago, right?"

"You know, your school was built over an Indian village, where I saw my first werewolf." Elijah was pointing all around us as he led me between trees to who-knows-where and I felt like on a museum tour. I never really liked those.

"This is all very interesting," I started trying to get him to stop. I had enough history lessons from back home. That's the problem when most people from your family remember middle ages - you get lectured a lot. "However, I have to point out that it is not my school. I'm not from here."

"I'm aware of that." His eyes finally found mine and I took in a ragged breath at the coldness I found in them. Only now I realized that I wasn't talking to my loving uncle, but a deadly Original, who wouldn't hesitate to kill me if he thought I posed a threat towards his family or him. _I should be scared, right?_ "Unfortunately, what I'm not aware of is from where you actually are; hence I would like you to tell me."

"Yeah, about that..." I bit my lower lip, wondering how I could keep beating around the bush. I was worried about how it will turn out when I tell him and I felt that avoiding the topic as long as I could, was the safest option I had. "I suppose you wanted to talk to Elena about yesterday?"

He nodded - well, he moved his head barely an inch but with him, it was like a nod. "I wanted to ask her why she lied to me yesterday."

"Lied about what?" I asked with a little smile playing on my lips, that unsuccessfully covered my nervousness.

"When I asked her what our mother was up to I suspected that she covered the truth. There was no way she forgave Niklaus that easily. But it was merely a suspicion until you confirmed it." He raised his eyebrows at me trying to look all-knowingly but I knew him too well to fall for it. He didn't like being kept in the dark - another Mikaelson quirk I inherited. "Would you mind to enlighten me why you prevented me and my siblings from drinking the wine?"

I took a deep breath and took a step closer to him. The absence of recognition in his eyes was unnerving. "Elena and the gang were contacted by Esther and helped her with her plan. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way they wanted it to, resulting in me having to endure hours of Elena questioning her morals and others telling her that it's a good thing, that they will finally get rid of you." His irises flashed with a dangerous gleam as he understood but I intended to be one hundred percent clear. "It's not just Klaus that she wants to kill."

"She wants to kill us all, doesn't she?" My uncle pursed his lips and averted gaze, to keep his calm. I pitied the poor tree, which wasn't spared his angry glare before he turned back at me. "She wants to undo the evil she created." I nodded quietly and waited for his reaction. He was contemplating something for a moment before asking: "Do you have means to stop her?"

Now it was time for my wide, toothy grin. "I already did."

He looked at me, clearly alarmed.

"She put the spell into the champagne," I started explaining. "She mixed doppelganger's blood with other ingredients to link you with each other. Quite clever of her, huh?" I raised my hand to tuck a disobedient strand of hair behind my ear and continued. "Unfortunately for her, I was able to sense it and stopped you before it had a chance to affect you. Your mother, however, along with Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and the Salvatores, does not suspect a thing." A mischievous grin crossed my face and I was sure that my blue eyes twinkled with amusement. "So, you know, I just thought, why not let her think she has the upper hand?"

For a moment Elijah contemplated what I told him. "I admit your plan sounds promising, yet I can't seem to figure out the question why are you helping us?" He took a step towards me. His hazel brown, ice cold eyes were observing me. Measuring me. Watching my every move. "And, as you kids say nowadays, what do you get out of it?"

I replied with a slight shrug. "Nothing. Can't I help someone out of goodness of my heart?" An unwavering, expressionless mask plastered on his face was enough to make me stop joking. My gaze stayed fixated on those black holes in his eyes, called pupils (He was my uncle! Why was I scared of my own uncle?), to persuade him into believing me. "I am being genuine with you. I mean you no harm and I really just want to help you." A humorless laugh escaped my lips. "Bloody hell, why would I lie?"

"I know a fair share of reasons. To trick us, perhaps." He offered and my eyes unintentionally rolled upwards at his obliviousness. _Does he really think I would do that?_ The answer was obvious: _Yes, he does. Why should he trust me when every other person in this freaking town tried to kill him or his siblings?_

 _But..._ a little voice in my head, the emotional (read: irrational) part of my brain, protested, _I'm his niece. He used to read me fairy tales. Why does he act this way?_

"I... I really am telling you the truth," I insisted. "I wish I could prove it to you somehow."

"You know, one thing I've learned in my time on this earth... be careful what you wish for." He crossed the space between us and in a matter of seconds, he was grabbing my shoulders, crushing them in his strong grip.

His pupils dilated..."Who are you? Where are you from?"...and my heart stopped.

I've heard about compulsion, of course.

I knew what it was. I knew what it could make you do. I knew that every single vampire roaming this Earth was able to compel others. And - of course - I knew that my family was all vampires. I just…

I never thought that I should protect myself.

I can be compelled, it shouldn't come as any surprise, yet nevertheless, it did. Back in the future, everybody knew who I was and people either feared me or respected me. Nobody dared to invade my privacy like that. And I never thought someone would. I admit it - I let myself be lulled into a false sense of security. Or maybe it wasn't false, maybe I just didn't think of all the possibilities. 'Like traveling to the past and a younger version of my uncle's distrust' sort of possibilities.

So, now, as I was standing in front of him, unable to move and cursing every non-existent deity there was for the fact that I was stupid enough not to take vervain, I regretted it deeply. Because just now I finally realized how vulnerable I really was.

Sure, I was a witch. But… That was all.

My mom was a vampire, my dad an Original hybrid and my grandma a witch, but very soon after my birth, my parents figured out that although I had a werewolf gene - which will stay suppressed until I kill someone - and apart from the fact that I healed faster than any human or werewolf - probably because of the vampire blood I shared with my mom when I was still in her womb - my abilities were those of an average witch (And yes! I was still seething whenever I remembered that it was how Esther called me. An ordinary witch? Urghh! A bit of a Mikaelson ego! Hello!).

Nevertheless, I could be compelled.

Which really, REALLY, sucked!

It was the one thing I haven't thought through. Except that I had it all planned. I just needed to make him trust me and then I could save uncle Kol's life and go back to living my idyllic, carefree life in the future. Because I figured that's why the spell brought me here. Because my uncle died in Mystic Falls years before I was born, aunt Bonnie tried to revive him. Because she overestimated herself, she died due to exhaustion. Because she died, Kerra went on her murderous power trip. Because of Kerra, I was here.

If I stopped Kol from dying I could undo all of those bad things.

But no!

Here comes my other uncle who is obsessed by family and thinks that I'm going to hurt them, so, he not only invades my privacy, he also makes me tell him the truth no matter the future consequences. I cannot tell him! He cannot know! It could change the whole future for the worst.

Am I rambling? I think I'm rambling. Can you ramble in your mind?

I wriggled and squirmed and dug nails into my palms trying to beat the urge to spill everything but it was stronger than me. Those words: " Who are you? Where are you from?" resonated through my mind and I found myself answering: "My name is Elisabeth Mikealson. I'm from New Orleans 2063."


End file.
